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What does God say are the pastor’s priorities? The answer is given in John 21:16-17, Acts 6:1-2, 1 Peter 5:2, and is summarized in 1 Timothy 5:17. In Acts 6:1-2 the apostles make it clear that they do not want to have very much to do with administration. 1 Timothy 5:17 helps us understand that the priority for the elders, including the pastor, is the teaching and preaching of the Word of God. Administration and organization are secondary. The vast majority of the elder’s time should be given to preaching and teaching, including study of the Word of Life. This is true for both the elders and the pastor of a church. God intended for the deacons to do the administrative and organizational functions with some oversight from the elders (which includes the pastor). That is the strong message of Acts 6:1-2 and 1 Timothy 5:17.
In most churches the lay elders are viewed as the organizational men and not as spiritual shepherds of the flock. This is a failing of the church today. What does the prospective pastor believe? Are the leadership team and the prospective pastor in agreement? Again, the articles called “Recovering the Pattern of Biblical Leadership” and “God’s Design For The Church” discuss the priorities in detail.
His Sermons. Another area to explore is “How does he prepare for his sermons?” It might surprise many, but there are some pastors who do not like to study and prepare for a Sunday message. It is common for many pastors to spend the bulk of their week in organizational and people related activities and give only a small portion of their week to study and sermon preparation. They love being busy but not with the Word of God. What does he want to do and what does he do? A pastor once bragged that he only needed an afternoon to prepare six messages, and frequently he would speak without any or with little preparation. He had a gift for public speaking and years of practice. His sermons were positive and many loved his enthusiasm. The apostle Paul has these words for us,
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. (NASB) 2 Tim. 4:3-4 His conduct is a reminder of God’s warning in Hosea 4.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge I also will reject you from being My priest. (NASB) Hosea 4:6 The heart of any teacher or pastor should be to study the Word of God. There they meet the Lord. When one plunges into the Word of God, the Holy Spirit can then minister to that person. When a teacher’s or pastor’s heart is on fire as a result of bathing himself in the Word of God, then the Holy Spirit can use him to light the church on fire! Years ago a pastor admitted that he had not opened the Word of God for almost one year before he stepped into the pulpit to preach. It is possible that his people enjoyed his messages, but it is clear that he must have been as spiritually dry as a dead blade of grass. When a preacher or teacher is not constantly sharing new things from scripture, it is clear that he is not spiritually growing himself. If he is spending large amounts of time in scripture, will it not be obvious? |
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| Thoughts On Selecting A Pastor | |||||
